True North
by DizzyDrea
Summary: Nell craved these moments, when it was just the two of them. They didn't even have to be doing anything more than they were right now, snuggled up under the blankets sharing warmth and the soothing balm of each other's' company. Part 11 of Scenes from an Accidental Courtship


Title: True North  
Author: DizzyDrea  
Summary: Nell craved these moments, when it was just the two of them. They didn't even have to be doing anything more than they were right now, snuggled up under the blankets sharing warmth and the soothing balm of each other's' company.  
Rating: T  
Spoilers: Recovery  
Author's Notes: All this talk of tattoos got the muse to thinking. And lucky you, she wanted an _Accidental_ 'Verse story. Obviously inspired by _Recovery_. Only light spoilers, though, so don't panic if you haven't seen the episode yet.  
Disclaimer: NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles and all its particulars are the property of CBS, Paramount, Donald P. Bellisario, Belisarius Productions, Shane Brennan, Shane Brennan Productions, and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.

~o~

The tattoo was intricate, swirls of ink on sun-kissed skin. The Compass Rose, and wasn't that just a delicious irony.

Nell Jones traced the lines with her finger, the dim light in the room no impediment. She knew the design almost as well as she knew her own small tattoo. The rose had been a spur of the moment idea, a way to rebel against the image everyone had of her. It was small, low on her right hip, an intense red intertwined with thorns. She often joked that the thorns were for protection more than anything, but that wasn't why she'd chosen that particular design. It had seemed fitting somehow: a thing of beauty that bites back when mishandled, that was Nell in a nutshell.

Now, as she passed her fingers over the ink on her lover's back, she wondered why he'd chosen this symbol over anything else he could have picked. They'd never talked about their tattoos, not really, but after all the chatter today about who had what and why, it seemed somehow strange that the person she was closest to had this secret, even from her.

"Thinking deep thoughts?"

Nell looked up and met the eyes of her lover. G Callen was lazing on the bed, settled on his stomach with his head pillowed on his arms. The sheets lay low on his hips, baring the vast expanse of his back to her eyes, including the tattoo on his left shoulder blade. She couldn't resist, returning her fingers to the ink as she caressed his skin.

"Why this?"

He flicked his eyes over his shoulder to where her hand still lay, then back to meet her gaze. She felt the slight rise and fall of his shoulder in a shrug that was anything but casual. "Seemed like the right thing."

She knew there was more to it than that, but she was a patient woman. He'd tell her when he was ready, and not a moment before.

"Sam doesn't know, does he?" she asked quietly. He shook his head slightly. "How is that possible? Haven't you guys ever changed in the locker room together? Showered together?"

Nell blushed when she realized what she'd said, but Callen only chuckled. "We've showered together plenty of times. Guess he just hasn't been looking. Should I feel insulted?"

"He can't have you," she said, swatting his shoulder lightly. She snuggled into his side, all that delicious skin pressed up against her own, as she whispered into his ear. "You're mine now, Mister."

Callen smiled, leaning in close to drop a sweet, mostly chaste kiss on her lips. "Promise. No SEALs are getting a piece of me, in the showers or anywhere else."

They lay quietly, drowsing as the minutes slipped by. It had been an uneventful week, the murder of a Navy Intelligence Officer notwithstanding, but that didn't make the evening they'd just spent any less sweet. Nell craved these moments, when it was just the two of them. They didn't even have to be doing anything more than they were right now, snuggled up under the blankets sharing warmth and the soothing balm of each other's' company.

"I was always looking for someone to believe in," he said quietly after some time had passed. "I needed a family, needed someone to tell me who I am, what I could become. But I didn't have that, and I finally realized that I'd have to be my own North Star and find my own way. The compass reminds me of that."

He shifted, rolling over and pulling Nell with him until she sat astride his lap. He looked up into her eyes, his own glowing with emotion like they did sometimes when he was unguarded. He rubbed his thumb over her tattoo, pressing into it as if he could mark it as his own, the way she traced his tattoo, memorizing it, owning it in some small way.

"I couldn't always depend on other people, the way I do now," he said. He reached up and ran his fingers through her hair, tugging her closer. She leaned down, her hair falling in a curtain around them. This close, she could see so much in his eyes, as if they truly were the window to his soul. "Somehow, I found my true north at NCIS. I found you."

Nell pressed a kiss to his lips, overwhelmed by his words. She'd had no idea, when they'd started this so many months ago, that she'd come to love this man so dearly. And love him she did. They'd never said the words, but somehow she knew that was what he was saying.

"I've never been anyone's true north before," she said with an impish smile, trying and failing to keep the emotion out of her voice. "How do you know I'll be any good at it?"

"You already are, Nell." He paused, cocking his head as he watched her hair cascade over his fingers. When his eyes flicked back to hers, she could see a tiny bit of fear clouding the clear blue. "I love you, you know? So much it scares me sometimes."

The words sank into her soul, making her feel lighter than air. She pressed her forehead to his, breathing in deep. "I know. I love you too."

They lay there staring into each other's eyes for a long moment, as if they thought the words would somehow disappear if they broke eye contact.

Finally, Nell sank down, settling herself on top of Callen, her ear pressed to his chest so she could feel the rise and fall, and hear his heart beating strong. He drew his arms around her, pulling her close as he dropped a kiss on her head.

This, right here, was what she'd been looking for all her life. Someone who took her as she was without trying to make her into something she wasn't. Someone who would protect her without stifling her, who would trust her and love her. She sighed contentedly, settling more comfortably within Callen's arms.

"You just going to stay there all night long?" he asked.

"It's comfy here."

Callen chuckled, then tugged the covers up over the two of them. "Yes, yes it is."

~Finis


End file.
